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Notes In Observance – Lucha Underground 10/19/16: Red Dead Redemption

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 10/19/16)

Red Dead Redemption

– The opening video wrapped in Vampiro’s “pep talk” to Prince Puma to take out Mil Muertes to revitalize his career, Killshot’s “You left me for dead” letter from an anonymous source, Dario Cueto’s continued refusals to give in to Johnny Mundo’s requests for Title shots and lastly, Dario’s Dial Of Doom (Raw Roulette to determine opponents for his brother, Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto) which saw Puma come closer than most to defeating Matanza, but because of MM/Catrina, it went up in smoke.

– The cutscene with Puma and Vampiro was interesting in and of itself, as we saw Vampiro approach him to give him advice, which Puma wanted nothing to do with or with him at all. Vampiro stressed that he still rooted for Puma, but Puma made it known he’d rather die by MM’s hands than because of Vampiro’s. Will be cool to see what this leaves for Vampiro in the future.

– The Lucha Underground Championship match between Champion Matanza and Killshot was another fun edition of “Dial Of Doom” as this time, it was the hearty military veteran selected. He has slowly honed his craft and embodies an underdog if there ever was one. Also liked that he sported bandaged ribs as a way to sell his injuries from his Weapons Of Mass Destruction match with Marty “The Moth” Martinez a few weeks back. Matanza used his power, while Killshot resiliently fought out of a hold with a wrist maneuver. Highlight moment was where Killshot countered himself out of a Tombstone Piledriver attempt by Matanza on the top rope and kicked him three times with a DDT to lay the Champ out. Before he could get a chance to cover him, he sold his injuries, which prevented him from doing so. As quickly as he had the momentum, Matanza took it right back with the Wrath Of The Gods to get the win. It was an easy story to tell, as Killshot’s injuries played a hand in his loss. The post-match angle with Killshot and Dante Fox (AR Fox from EVOLVE, Dragon Gate – a prominent guy on the independent scene) was a great advancement of the “Left For Dead” storyline, as we saw Killshot embrace Fox in the ring before Fox savagely beat him down and left him laid out. In a symbolic occurrence, Fox took his dog tags off and dropped them on Killshot. Guess he’s the one who wrote the letter. Good stuff all round.

– Another week, another hype video for the “Alice In Wonderland”-esque character. “They’ll Be Here Soon” flashed on the screen as a voiceover narrator said, “Better late than never.” Cool.

– It’s that time of the season when Aztec Warfare comes around. In Season One, it was a blessing. In Season Two, it began the downfall, as we saw Matanza debut and wiped out Fenix’s excellent underdog story and things never recovered from there. Anyways, we had hopes for Season Three. Cueto came out when the Lucha Underground Trios Champions AeroStar/Drago/Fenix were in the ring and cut a promo about how he thought nobody on his roster could take the belt off his brother. He made some AWIII announcements, as he said Matanza would defend the belt in the match and that he’d be number one. He offered the #20 spot for all three of the men in the ring, as he referenced that Fenix was number one last season. The stipulation came with a twist, as while the winner would get the #20 spot, the other two would be out of the match completely. We rooted for Fenix based off his history with the match and general character. As for the bout itself, lots of great, high-flying action between the three with flips, kicks and topes galore. Fenix added to the drama with a bloody face, as it stained the canvas. It made us want him to win even more. At the same time, Drago and AeroStar had him well-scouted. The crowd was certainly into it, right into the end. In a nice surprise, they opted for Drago to go over as he pinned AeroStar, with Fenix laid outside. On one hand, it’s a disappointment for Fenix, but it gives hope that maybe something big is in store for Drago. Either way, some great drama.

– The cutscene with Drago, Kobra Moon and Vinny Massaro in the Bathroom gave us the knowledge that Drago/KM came from the same tribe, but that Drago left them a thousand years ago and vowed to never come back. It was obvious KM tried to “slither” her way onto his success, but he wanted none of it. Massaro was more in the segment to portray a slob that was surprised to see KM in the Men’s Bathroom.

– The cutscene in Cueto’s office with Mundo and Cueto finally gave Mundo what he wanted in his demand for a Title match, as he traded the opportunity for $94,000 cash in a case of desperation. We also learned that Mundo had to pay somebody off for “photos” and we didn’t get more on that. Cueto gleefully booked Mundo against Lucha Underground Gift Of The Gods Champion Sexy Star in the near future.

– The Puma-MM main event brought back some of that Season One magic, as we had a revisit to the Ultima Lucha Uno main event. It was a tale of attempted redemption from Puma, who was haunted by the fact that MM defeated him for his Title and was never the same afterwards. On the other hand, MM had plenty of momentum and we’d see how he’d fare. A fun match with an investable story as MM used his power to throw around Puma, while the latter flew around whenever possible. Easily the biggest highlight was Puma’s crossbody from way across the bleachers to the floor for a genuine “Holy shit!” moment. Puma first struggled to hit his 630 splash, but eventually got to land the move to get his official redemption. A key moment after the match was a camera shot where Vampiro smiled at the camera, which was presumably in Puma’s direction.

– The final cutscene with Rey Mysterio Jr. and Chavo Guerrero Sr. had the cool factor of “Chavo Classic” being brought into the equation, as Mysterio was conflicted of what to do and went to Chavo’s father for advice. Mysterio threw up an ultimatum that either Chavo leaves or he goes. Interesting to see how that develops later in the season, or if they go right to it next week or the week after.

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About Nicholas Jason Lopez

Just a 25 year-old Brooklynite. Nothing more, nothing less.
Currently Freelancing for The Bensonhurst Bean website in Brooklyn, he has also been published on sites such as Review Fix, College University of New York Athletic Conference, Dying Scene, Brooklyn News Service, All Media NY, BrooklynFans.com and Yahoo Voices.
He has also interned for The Home Reporter/Brooklyn Spectator based out of Brooklyn, NY.